Harsh Vardhan gets reward for Delhi magic

Dr Harsh Vardhan, the BJP Delhi chief who led the party to a clean sweep of Lok Sabha seats in the capital city, joined the Union Cabinet on Monday.

The Cabinet berth is being seen as reward for Vardhan’s strong leadership during the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.

Vardhan, 59, appointed the saffron party’s Delhi unit chief on October 2013 and named its chief ministerial candidate, virtually ended the Congress’ 15-year domination in the city politics by first leading the BJP to the position of being the single largest party in the Assembly polls and then helping the party sweep all Lok Sabha seats in the capital.

The practising doctor’s elevation to national politics is sure to leave a vacuum in Delhi politics, where there is growing speculation of a change of guard.

Several names are doing the rounds as possible successor to Harsh Vardhan in Delhi, including Alok Kumar, Satish Uphadhyay, Jagdish Mamgain, Ashish Sood, Pawan Sharma and Parvesh Sahib Singh.
There is no official word on the next chief ministerial candidate in Delhi BJP, a position Harsh Vardhan had held since the Assembly elections in December 2013.

“After Harsh Vardhan’s entry into national politics, it is for the senior party leaders to decide on the issue,” senior BJP legislator Jagdish Mukhi said.

However, some party leaders said a new chief ministerial candidate will be declared as soon as fresh elections to the state Assembly are announced.

Right now, the Assembly is under suspended animation since February and Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung is expected to present a report on the political scenario to President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday.

“Despite Harsh Vardhan moving to the Centre, he remains the tallest leader in Delhi. The party will continue to use his services in the city politics,” said another BJP leader, hinting a possible return of Vardhan as the chief ministerial candidate.